Taranaki’s ‘silver lining’

Press, 12 June 1984, Page 15

Taranaki’s ‘silver lining’

PA New Plymouth More big industrial development projects will be attracted to Taranaki because of the outstanding record of its workforce and the “crass stupidity” at Marsden Point, says the Minister of Works and Development, Mr Friedlander. “There is a silver lining for Taranaki in the clouds of industrial disruption which have been hanging over Marsden Point. “Appalling and costly as the strikes have been to the nation, they have dramatically drawn attention to

Taranaki’s record with major projects,” he said yesterday. Mr Friedlander, the member of Parliament for New Plymouth, said this advantage had been boosted after the "crass stupidity” experienced at Whangarei. He said that at the end of March the synthetic plant at Motunui was 61 per cent complete and slightly ahead of schedule. The ammonia-urea plant at Kapuni and the methanol plant in the Waitara Valley were built to schedule by workforces which per-

formed at high levels of productivity and quality. Both were running at capacity, earning and saving New Zealand about $llO million a year in foreign exchange. “This commendable performance is due to the top-notch workforce assembled in Taranaki and the high standards of management involved,” Mr Friedlander said. “There is no doubt that any future developers will be strongly attracted to our province for new projects involving both workshop and on-site construction.”